When Pat Cummins had Australia’s Test captaincy fall into his lap two weeks before a home Ashes, he was “absolutely determined” that he wanted Steve Smith as his second in command. Knowing the toll that fast bowling takes, Cummins wanted an undistracted eye to help get things right with the team while he was otherwise engaged.
“It’s going to be a real collaborative approach,” he said at the time. “There will be times on the field where I’ll throw to Steve and you’ll see Steve move fielders around, maybe doing bowling changes, taking a bit more of an elevated vice-captaincy role.
